By Mark Polishuk | at Jesse Winker was removed during the fourth inning of today’s 6-5 Mets loss to the Cardinals when Winker hurt his right side after a making a throw from left field. Attempting to throw out Brendan Donovan at home during a third-inning sacrifice fly, Winker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) postgame that he “felt it pretty much right when I threw the ball.” Winker finished the rest of the inning, but was replaced before the Mets’ next turn in the field.
An MRI revealed oblique damage, and Winker will head back to New York for more testing on Monday. An official placement for Winker on the 10-day injured list is sure to follow before the Mets take the field tomorrow in Phoenix to start a series against the Diamondbacks. Oblique injuries have an uncertain timeline even if a player is dealing with a minor strain, and a more severe strain could put Winker out for months or even put his season in jeopardy.
Sunday marked Winker’s first start of the season in the outfield, and only his second non-DH appearance in 24 total appearances in 2025. Because the Mets were playing a doubleheader against the Cardinals, the team had to stretch the roster a bit more than usual, leading to Winker’s start in left field in the first game, and Starling Marte’s first appearance in the outfield all season when he was the starting right fielder for the second game.
Getting hurt during that rare outfield outing just adds to the misfortune of Winker’s situation, and his absence will remove a key left-handed bat from New York’s roster. Winker and Marte have covered the designated hitter at-bats in a lefty/right platoon, so as DiComo notes, the Mets might be able to fill Winker’s spot by cycling multiple players through the DH spot. Such left-handed hitting options as Jared Young, Jon Singleton, Donovan Walton, or Billy McKinney are at Triple-A as potential call-ups — Young is the only member of that group who is on the 40-man roster, but the Mets could open up another 40-man spot by moving Jose Siri to the 60-day IL.
Winker is off to an okay but unspectacular start in 2025, producing a 104 wRC+ from a .239/.321/.418 slash line over 78 plate appearances. Initially acquired as a trade deadline rental from the Nationals last July, Winker hit decently well during the rest of the regular season and then had a monstrous 1.168 OPS over 32 PA during the Mets’ playoff run. The Mets liked what they saw from the veteran and brought him back to Queens on a one-year, $7.5MM free agent deal.
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